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I'm not sure if this is a good place to put this but can anyone think of a good book that explains the chemicals in our aquariums. Currently I understand ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. All I understand in PH and hardness is that its very low in my RO water and a little high in my tap. But i still have figured out why there low or high or how to adjust it.
For instance i added in the recommended dose of a chemical in my aquarium to raise hardness but my hardness shot up far more then it should have and i still don't know why.

If a mod/admin (i still don't know the difference) decides this isn't in the right place and there is a more appropriate place please move it.


PS i just got a spell checker from google did it work well?

thebuddy wrote: If a mod/admin (i still don't know the difference)

Check out the menu item called FAQ. Here's a direct link too

http://www.zebrapleco.com/forum/faq.php

Here's some articles that should explain the whole concept, but beware - some are more techincal than others. Great post BTW, you're slowly getting better at posting.

Start with (this should give the basic idea):
http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html

Next (really good article):
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8112.asp

Thirdly:
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/khgh.html

Last (highly technical - skip if you cannot understand):
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/gh_kh_ph.php

You do not need to read all of them, it's just the more articles you read the more you will be able to grasp the subject.

The main problem is once people get into technical stuff i don't know enough to understand is this because I'm 13 or because i haven't read something I should.

PS i love this spell check